Family, friends honor Chicago soldier

January 09, 2010

On the soccer field, Sgt. Albert Dono Ware of Chicago played goalie because he was trustworthy, dependable and willing to endure being hit with the ball to protect his team, his friends and family said Saturday.

Some of those same qualities carried over into his relationships and military career, helping establish him as a leader, said Artemus Kgaye, Ware's soccer teammate.

"We knew you had another duty," Kgaye said at Ware's funeral on Saturday. "We eagerly awaited your return for another season."

An Honor Guard from the 82nd Airborne salutes the arriving hearse before funeral service for Sgt. Albert Ware. (Tribune / Zbigniew Bzdak) MORE PHOTOS

His team saved the last soccer ball Ware played with, Kgaye said, and offered it to the fallen soldier's family. Then he looked at Ware's casket and chanted, "Play, Albert, play," drawing tears and moans from the audience.

Other teammates and Ware's wife, children and parents were among the hundreds of people gathered at Freedom Temple Church of God in Christ on the South Side to remember Ware. There also were a host of elected officials, local ministers and military leaders.

Ware, 27, an Army infantryman from Chicago's Pullman community, was killed Dec. 18 by an improvised explosive device while in Afghanistan.

The Corliss High School graduate studied at Chicago State University. He was a married father of three children who was serving his second tour of duty.

Ware spent part of his life growing up in Liberia and managed to escape from the country during a violent civil war. He became a war hero when he died protecting the staples of American life: freedom and democracy, Gov. Pat Quinn said.

"We're burying today an all-American hero," Quinn said. "We've been held in the arms of Sgt. Ware."

At the emotional service, Ware's parents and wife sat in front surrounded by relatives. His sister, Ciatta, performed a wrenching liturgical dance, at times stretching her arms skyward. When she pounded her feet up and down on the ground while caving her chest in and out, many in the audience stood, screaming in pain and letting tears stream down their faces.

Army Chaplain Col. Larry McCarty said he knew Ware and admired him.

"He was, he is a warrior," McCarty said, adding that Ware always put the war effort first, never quit and would never leave a fallen comrade.

Ware's parents did not speak at the service, but his wife, Pleshette Farmer-Ware, published a poem in the funeral program.

"My fallen soldier, as I lay you to rest, I don't know how to say goodbye," she wrote. "I love you dearly with every tear that I drop. I'll keep a happy memory of you in thought.

"And when I see you again, I'll stain you with a kiss because you were missed."